Life Expectancy Evidence in Personal Injury Cases

Life Expectancy Evidence in Personal Injury Cases

In personal injury accident claims the parties will rely on expert medical evidence to prove the nature and the extent of injury sustained in the accident. In high value serious injury claims the parties may want to rely upon expert evidence with regards to an injured claimants life expectancy after the accident. Court permission is required to rely upon expert evidence and in a recent application that came before the High Court in the case of Stephen Mays (A Protected Party by his Litigation Friend, the Official Solicitor) v Drive Force (UK) Limited [2019] EWHC 5 (QB) the Court had to decide whether expert life expectancy evidence was required.

Mr Mays sustained serious injuries in an accident on 12th June 2013 when he was working as a transport lorry driver for the defendant. He was working on the top of the deck of his lorry above the cab when he leant on the top deck safety rail which snapped causing him to fall. Liability was admitted. Mr Mays sustained a traumatic brain injury and orthopaedic injuries which has had a catastrophic effect upon his life. Permission was granted by the Court to adduce medical evidence from experts of various disciplines. The defendants also wanted to obtain life expectancy evidence, but the claimant objected to the need for this. The cost of instructing a life expectancy expert was budgeted at around £15,000 per party. The defendants argued that the evidence would be relevant for the calculation of future losses as it was relevant to take into account the claimants life expectancy as a result of his cigarette smoking, his hypertension, his obesity and his colitis. The defendants were seeking to rely upon a statistical approach from an expert to show a reduction in life expectancy as a result of these medical conditions.

The claimants legal team challenged the need for separate expert evidence based upon the statistical approach proposed by the defendants. They argued that life expectancy evidence could be provided by the medical experts who were being instructed to deal with the medical issues in the case.

The Judge hearing the application decided that evidence of the nature sought by the defendants may assist the trial judge and that the medical experts involved in the case may not be able to address all of the co-morbid factors in issue. This was a high valued claim where evidence may make a significant difference to value. The judge allowed the defendants application and permission was granted for both parties to rely upon expert life expectancy evidence.

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